In my life, I have found my secular friends to be one of my greatest blessings. I went to a very Christian high school so when I started going to a (notoriously) secular public university, I was very scared about making friends. I was afraid that many nonbelievers would only care about partying and hooking up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is not the case. While many of my friends are secular, they are wonderful people. I find myself wanting to be an example of Christ's love to them. Having secular friends makes me all the more passionate about praying for those who do not believe. I have friends who are queer, pagan, Muslim, promiscuous, atheist, etc. When I pray for those people, I'm not looking down on them as non-Christians. That's not the point. I find the more I spend time with these people, the more I fall in love with them as people. I want them to be saved not just because they are not Christian, but also because they are my dear friends whom I love very much.
Of course, I think it is important that you have fellowship with believers as well. Like you said, it can be very easy to give in to secular ways when you are surrounded by secular people. Just make sure you have some Christian friends you can confide in and everything should be fine.
Of course, I think it is important that you have fellowship with believers as well. Like you said, it can be very easy to give in to secular ways when you are surrounded by secular people. Just make sure you have some Christian friends you can confide in and everything should be fine.
It's also good to be wary of when they might be taking a different path away from you. Our enemy doesn't want us to influence them to come to Christ, and will do what he can to lead them away from Him. For example, one of the friends I spoke of in my OP turned malicious towards me, very out of character for the person I once knew her to be. The Holy Spirit spoke loudly into my mind one afternoon around the time this happened, warning me that she was surrounded in darkness, and that I needed to keep my distance from her while He continued to work in her through other means.
Always keep a discerning eye for the paths they may be taking while they are still in your life. Always try to be as kind as you can be, show your caring for them as you can also, even if they are not making that same effort. Part of the mistake I made with the friend I mentioned is that I became overcritical of her in some arguments we had. And I let myself think that my on-going frustration was enough to justify my chastisement of her.
But I only made things worse. If you ever have issues with them that you must absolutely talk to them about, be as gentle and gracious as possible about it, let them know you care about their perspective. Don't try to "put them in their place" as I mistakenly did, even if they seem to "deserve" it. Remember our Lord's patience, and always keep Him present with you at all times, especially with unbelieving friends. These are the things I wish I had done differently now.
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